Body Decorations of Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas

The early civilizations of Central and South America paid careful
attention to their personal cleanliness and created many different
ornaments to beautify the body. Decoration among all Central and South
American groups indicated social rank. The Aztecs took this idea very
seriously and punished anyone wearing an article of clothing or decoration
above his birthright or honorary right with death.

Before adorning themselves, the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas all cleaned
themselves thoroughly. Evidence suggests that Mayans used a steam bath to
cleanse themselves. Aztecs washed themselves daily, and some bathed twice
each day in cold rivers and streams. Aztecs also enjoyed a steam bath in a
bathhouse, a domed building heated with a fireplace. The Incas also bathed
frequently, and the wealthiest soaked in steaming mineral water piped into
their own private bathhouses from hot springs. Once clean, these early
Americans adorned themselves in a variety of different ways.

Permanent decorations

Some body decorations were permanent. The Mayans squeezed the skulls of
the most privileged infants between two boards to elongate and flatten
their heads and tried to promote crossed eyes by hanging a ball from
children's bangs in the center of their forehead. Mayan kings and
noblemen, or aristocrats, bored holes in their front teeth and inserted
decorative pieces of stone, especially green jade and glossy black
obsidian, which comes from hardened molten lava. All Mayans filed points
on their teeth to make their mouths look more appealing. After marriage,
some Mayans applied tattoos to their face and body. Some Aztec women
stained their teeth red with the crushed bodies of cochineal insects, a
native bug, to make
themselves more sexually appealing. Aztec warriors signaled their
success with the size and shape of the lip plugs that they inserted into
a slit made in their lip. The most successful Aztec warriors inserted
plugs shaped like animals and plants, while less skilled warriors
inserted plainer shells and simple disks into their lips. Wealthy and
honored Inca men earned the nickname orejones, or "big
ears," from Spaniards for the large disks made of gold, silver,
or wood they inserted into stretched slits in their earlobes.

Map of the Americas showing the Mesoamerican civilizations of the
Middle Ages: Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas.
Reproduced by permission of the
.

Body painting

Less permanent decorations, such as body paint, were donned for special
occasions to mark the status of the wearer. Mayan warriors painted their
faces and bodies with black and red colors, and priests painted
themselves blue. Although many Aztec women just emphasized keeping
themselves clean, others, such as the most fashion-conscious women and
the companions of warriors, smoothed yellow earth or a yellow wax on
their faces, dyed their feet, and painted their hands and neck with
intricate designs. Inca women did not paint themselves, but, much like
the Mayans, Inca warriors and priests used paint on their face, arms,
and legs to indicate their status.

Jewelry

The jewelry worn by the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca people was rich in
variety and quite beautiful. Without metalworking skills, Mayans made
jewelry from many other materials. Mayan men wore nose ornaments,
earplugs, and lip plugs made of bone, wood, shells, and stones,
including jade, topaz, and obsidian. Necklaces, bracelets,
anklets, and headgear were made with jaguar and crocodile teeth, jaguar
claws, and feathers. Mayan women and children wore less elaborate
necklaces and earrings of similar materials.

Aztecs and Incas perfected metalworking to a great art. Gold and silver
jewelry was worn alongside ornaments made of feathers, shells, leather,
and stones. Among the Aztecs, laws about which ornaments could be worn
were strictly enforced. Only royalty could wear headdresses with gold
and quetzal (a bird with brilliant blue-green feathers that reach three
feet in length) feathers, for example. The weaving tradition, so
important to Incas, helped create beautiful woven headdresses. Inca
emperors wore woven hats trimmed with gold and wool tassels or topped
with plumes, or showy feathers. Incas also created elaborate feather
decorations for men: headbands made into crowns of feathers, collars
around the neck, and chest coverings. In addition, wealthy Inca men wore
large gold and silver pendants hung on their chests, disks attached to
their hair and shoes, and bands around their arms and wrists. Inca women
adorned themselves simply with a metal fastening for their cloak called
a tupu. The head of their tupu was decorated with paint or silver, gold,
or copper bells.